UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 35,360 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 39.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,488 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 35,360 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.22% of First Busey worth $2,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Busey by 596.4% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 133,264 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 114,129 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $721,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 65.4% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 114,808 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,706,000 after buying an additional 45,400 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 193,473 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,560,000 after buying an additional 61,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 57,054 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 17,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUSE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $22.82. 764,116 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,523. First Busey Co. has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. The business had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. First Busey's payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. This represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,496. This trade represents a 5.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 14,825 shares of company stock worth $323,038. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech.